


Light A Single Candle

by jennytork



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Co-Written, Gen, With my husband
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 09:46:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19270732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennytork/pseuds/jennytork
Summary: A teenage Obi-Wan is blinded.





	1. Wounds of a Friend

Arel sighed and deactivated her lightsabre. "I can't WAIT till tomorrow!"

"The Choosing," Obi-Wan agreed, deactivating his as well and rubbing his upper arm, where Arel had landed a hard hit. The sabres were training ones for students to use -- lacking the full, destructive power of those built by Padawans to serve them through their lives as Jedi, they still packed enough of a punch to burn. The severity of the burn depended upon the hardness of the hit.

"Who do you think will Choose you?" Arel asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "The Masters have been very closed-mouthed about that."

Arel smiled. "Well, *I* know who'll choose me!"

"Really?" Obi-Wan grinned at her, drying his long hair with a towel.

"Master Jinn," she smiled. "I'm top of my studies, I'm the best with a sabre, I'm the quickest with the answers!" She beamed. "And he's the best, just like me!" She turned and began to walk out, but turned back. "Obi-Wan, no Master wants a Padawan who's as self-conscious and self-deprecating as you. You need to get more confidence before ANY Master will want you!"

With that, she turned and left.

"She's right," Obi-Wan sighed, sinking to the mat and arranging himself in a meditative position. He began to clear the troubled thoughts from his mind.

* * *

"I choose Obi-Wan Kenobi," Master Jinn's rich voice rippled through the Hall.

Arel's jaw dropped wide open. She looked over at Obi-Wan, whose jaw was similarly gaping. "But..." Arel gasped. "But I..."

Yoda pointed his stick at her. "I. Yes, again, I it is. Always I with this one. Arrogant, this one is. Competitive, this one is. Must be always best, must be always right. Immature she be. Mature she must, before Jedi she plays."

"PLAYS?" she cried. "You think this is a game to me?"

Master Jinn's voice rang out again. "Bluntly? Yes we do. A game Arel had to win at any cost. You lost sight of what being a Jedi is about."

"Selfish, arrogant you are," Yoda snorted. "Of the Dark Side this is." There were murmurs of agreement. "Ways she must change before Chosen she be."

The assembly broke up, Master going to new Padawan, leaving the students who had not yet been Chosen standing there.

"You'll pay for this, Obi-Wan,"Arel spat, shielding her bitter thoughts as best she could. "Oh, you'll pay for my humiliation..."

* * *

Obi-Wan fingered his new Padawan braid and smiled ironically as he ran a hand over his newly shortened hair. A small price to pay, he thought.

The knock on his chambre door startled him. He frowned --- he'd not felt anyone coming. He opened the door and smiled. Arel! What a pleasant surprise!"

She laughed. "You're shorn!"

He chuckled and ran a hand over his locks again. "I know. I'm to meet Master Jinn in a few moment --"

"This will only take a moment."

His smile faded slightly. Something seemed --- off --- about her.... "What can I do for you, Arel?"

"You weren't supposed to be Chosen," she said calmly. "I was."

He held up a hand, his smile gone. "Arel, Master Jinn explained his reasons ---"

"Still." She smiled. "I was to have been Chosen." The smile grew. "And I still will be."

Alarmed, he cried through the Force, *MASTER!*

It was all he had time to do. Moving too fast for him to react, she brought the training lightsabre around, activated it ----

And hit him full force across the eyes. 

*****

One by one, and then in teams, the Jedi healers entered Obi-Wan's chambres. One by one, and then in teams, they came out shaking their heads.

Qui-Gon was finally permitted into the chambres. A healer shook hear head and began to walk past him. He gently touched her shoulder. "Tell me."

The healer let out a long sigh. "The training sabre made full contact with his eyes. He's been severely burned. We've... healed the burns...but..."

"But?" An icy hand wrapped around Qui-Gon's spine. Healers rarely, if ever, said 'but' after a sentence of healing.

Another tired sigh. "But... we could not restore his vision."

Qui-Gon blinked HARD. "You... you could NOT?"

She looked at him, infinite weariness in her mahogany gaze. "His blindness is no longer physical in nature. It appears to now be from his heart."

The tall Jedi nodded slowly and looked toward the sleeping quarters. "So any further healing..."

"...must come from within HIM. Yes." She sighed once more. "If you will excuse me, Master Jinn..."

"Many thanks." He stepped aside and let her pass. Then he sent a wave through the Force, identifying himself as he stepped through the door.

Obi-Wan was sitting up, propping a pillow behind his shoulders. He looked unharmed, unburned, undamaged in any way ---

Save for the clouded, confused look in his staring eyes that showed he was unseeing.

His head tilted slightly. "M...Master."

Qui-Gon stepped forward. "Here, Padawan."

"What...What's going to happen to me now, Master?"

"Nothing has changed," Qui-Gon said, sitting on the edge of the low bed.

Blind azure eyes widened as his jaw dropped slightly. "Nothing...but....but I can't see!"

"Not with your eyes, that's true," Qui-Gon said calmly. "We will begin to train you to see using the Force. Your training is far from over, young Padawan --- you've barely begun!"

A startled but absolutely delighted smile began to spread across Obi-Wan's face, then it faded. "Master.... what about Arel?"

* * *

"Darksided that one is," Yoda huffed as he leaned on his stick. "In her much jealousy, much hatred, much anger live."

"She is Force-powerful," Mace Windu said, frowning deeply. "Raw, untrained talent --"

"UntrainABLE," a female Jedi spoke up. "She is self-centred. Everything points back to Arel."

"Agreed," another woman put in. "She is power without mercy, ability without compassion."

Yoda snorted. "Perfect Sith Lady she would be."

The rest of the Council looked rather incredulously at the ancient creature. "Master Yoda," Windu said. "The Sith no longer exist."

"Be the first in forever, she would," Yoda growled. "Be allowed access to students she must NOT."

"Agreed," the women chorused.

"Do you realise what you are asking?" a tall blue Jedi asked. "You are asking the Council to.... to...."

"Asking Council to purge Darksided One I am," Yoda said, standing and crossing the room. He leaned on his staff and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blue dissenter. "Problem have you, hmmm?"

The blue man was easily three times Yoda's size. He looked into the Jedi Master's eyes and started to snarl out a reply, then sighed and dropped his eyes, visibly deflating under the emerald stare.

"Ah, Better you thought of it, I see," Yoda said, nodding his head. "Tested she will be. Tried she will be. If truly Darksided she be ---"

"She will be purged," Windu said softly.

Qui-Gon moved to his bed and for once, did not lay down and pull the covers over himself.

Today he was so exhausted he FLOPPED on his bed and threw an arm over his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

At that moment, a tentative knock sounded on his door. He sat up wearily. "Enter."

The door opened and Obi-Wan stood there, looking very nervous. "Uhm...Master...."

Qui-Gon stood up. "Remember what we went over today?"

Obi-Wan moved into the room slowly, using his hands to show him where the sparse furnishings were. "Yes... but that's only for training ---"

"A Jedi's training IS a Jedi's LIFE," Qui-Gon reminded him gently. "Why are you here and not in your quarters?"

The younger man winced as if stricken. "I... I got turned around... confused...." Tears welled up in his sightless blue eyes, then spilled over onto his cheeks. "Master, WHY?" he sobbed, laying his hands over his face. "We... we were FRIENDS! I- I- I trusted her with my-my-my LIFE! WHY would she d-DO this to me? WHY?"

Qui-Gon reached out and gently drew him into an embrace. "I don't know, Padawan," he whispered. "I truly don't know."

After a long few moments, Obi-Wan's arms encircled his Master, returning the embrace. "Thank you," he sniffled.

Qui-Gon squeezed his eyes shut, but the water poured down his cheeks anyway. He tightened the fatherly embrace in answer, as emotion had stolen his voice.

* * *

Yoda leaned on his stick and sighed. One hand raised to rub a tired eye. The trials of Arel were nearly complete, and he was more than a little startled at the results.

He'd done a foolish thing -- he'd judged her prematurely. He had let anger cloud his mind for a moment. "Old enough I am," he growled to himself, shaking his head. "Know better should I by now..."

"Master Yoda?" Straya, one of the students, appeared in the doorway behind him. "The final test is complete."

"Coming, coming," Yoda sighed. He moved to the doorway and could not suppress the grin as her hand reached out, then clenched in a fist and moved back to her side. "Ah, you also."

She gave a slight chuckle as she blushed. "I'm sorry, Master Yoda."

He hmphed and nodded, moving on out. "....old enough I am indeed," he groused as he walked down the hallway. "...used to females wanting to pet me I should be as well...."

Straya couldn't help but chuckle as she followed him.

* * *

Yoda arrived and took his seat in the Council. Mace Windu turned to him and smiled. "The tests are complete, Master Yoda."

"Aware of it I am," he nodded. "Say about her, they do what?"

A female Jedi answered. "She is trainable. She is not as darksided as we ,assumed."

"Mmm," Yoda rumbled. "As much I figured, once calm down I did."

Windu nodded in agreement. "Arel is talented. VERY talented. She needs to learn humility and how to take her focus off herself and how she compares to others."

The blue Jedi agreed. "She must be cured of the idea that she is the best or she is nothing."

Yoda leaned on his stick and regarded the blue Jedi with a critical eye. "Massive undertaking, this is. Do this, shall which Master?"

The blue Jedi smiled. "You, Master Yoda."

The wizened Master's ears twitched in shock. He jerked to his feet, spluttering.

"I agree," Windu said, his face totally impassive. "If any among us can teach humility, it is Master Yoda."

The rest of the Council murmurred in assent. Yoda looked around and scowled. He gave a loud "HMPH!" and walked out of the Chambres.

* * *

Arel looked up as her door was pounded on. "....come...." she called, not bothering to stand up.

Yoda stalked in, slamming his stick on the ground. "Your new Master I am. Meet me in Meditation Gardens at First Light you shall." He turned and moved toward the door, then turned back and jabbed his stick at her. "Or come find you I WILL!"

And he was gone.

Arel sighed and looked out of her window. "It doesn't matter now," she whispered. "I've lost. Nothing matters anymore."

Obi-Wan raised his head and tilted it up, feeing the warmth of the light on his face. He sighed, opening his eyes wide as if looking at the light in his room.

After a moment, he sighed again and lowered his head. "Force, I hate this..." he moaned, rubbing his eyes. "I HATE being blind!"

He moved to his bed and lay down. He reached out and touched his Master mentally. Feeling a wave of reassurance roll over him in return, he curled up and went to sleep.

Obi-Wan had left his light burning -- but the blind young man was unaware of it.

* * *

Qui-Gon stood there, eyes closed, sending waves of reassurance to his Padawan. When he felt the teenager slide to sleep, he reached out with the Force and shut off the room light.

Then, with a sigh, he opened his eyes and raised a hand to the bridge of his nose.

A large hand descended upon his shoulder. "It's time."

"I know," Qui-Gon sighed. He turned to Windu. "I'm ready."

Together, they walked into the Council Chambres and Windu took his seat. When Qui-Gon took his place, Windu nodded. "Report."

"It is... difficult," Qui-Gon said. "The things we're attempting have never been done before. To teach one to see with the Force instead of his eyes.."

"An enormous task have taken you on," Yoda said. "Worth it, is he?"

"He is powerful," Qui-Gon said. "The Force is strong with him. He is, indeed, worth it."

"But on the matter of his sight..." the blue Jedi said.

Qui-Gon sighed. "There is still no reason for him to be blind. But together, we feel -- I feel -- that he can still be Jedi."

"Perhaps," Windu mused, "the techniques you develop can help other Jedis who lose their sight --"

"Or perhaps," a woman piped up, "we can used the techniques to help ourselves learn to tap the Force in other ways."

"Perhaps," Qui-Gon agreed. He then turned to Yoda. "Master Yoda -- what of Arel?"

With a sigh, Yoda closed his eyes, raised his hand, and rubbed the bridge of his wrinkled nose.

"That good?" Qui-Gon couldn't repress the smile.

"Humourous it is not!" Yoda snapped, leaning forward and jabbing his finger at Qui-Gon. "Stubbourn she is! Prideful she is!" He sighed, then seemed to visibly deflate. "Full of pain, she is."

"But you CAN reach her," Qui-Gon said.

Yoda's head jerked up and the staff he carried jabbed toward Qui-Gon. "Ah, but YOUR part consider well!"

"M-MY part?" Qui-Gon took a step backward, genuinely startled. "My teaching skills are good, but I am HARDLY the best that she seems to think I am ---"

Yoda hmph'd. Windu chuckled and shook his head slightly.

Qui-Gon looked from one to the other, confused. "Masters?"

Windu smiled ever so slightly. "Still thinking overmuch. Some things never truly change. Use your heart, Jinn. Don't sense the Force with your mind -- truly FEEL it."

Qui-Gon inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and reaching out with his feelings. A gasp escaped him as his azure eyes flew wide open. "How could I have been so wrong?" he whispered.

Windu nodded. "Yes... what you feel is true. She has -- FEELINGS -- for you."

"I... I assumed she wanted to be my Padawan because she saw me as the best teacher...."

"Always looking for the logic behind the reason," Windu said, leaning forward slightly. "You keep forgetting, Jinn. Some things aren't logical -- they're bound up in feelings."

Qui-Gon felt the Force move slightly, and Yoda nodded. "Yes, Jinn -- Bound by his feelings Kenobi is."

Qui-Gon raised his eyes to meet Yoda's. "As is Arel."

"Yes..." the blue Jedi mused. "Her feelings for you inhibit her growth in the Force."

"As well as her stubbourn pride," Windu sighed. "A separation may be best for all."

"I'll leave Coruscant immediately," Qui-Gon said.

"No," Yoda said. "Choice in this you have not. Familiarity Kenobi must have --"

"And here we can observe your new techniques," a female said.

Qui-Gon nodded slowly. "Then...Arel must leave Coruscant."

Windu sat back and spread his hands. "Now you see our quandry. Where can she go? No matter what civilised world she is trained upon, her pride will remain."

Qui-Gon again closed his eyes and reached out. He opened them and looked at Yoda.

The green master nodded slowly, clearly impressed. "Yes..." he said just as slowly. "Very good.... an appropriate choice it is... very good INDEED..." 

DAGOBAH.

Arel stoically watched the transport leave. "How long are we here, Master Yoda?"

"Until time to leave, it is," Yoda stated, walking past her.

"But," Arel gasped, jogging to keep up with him. "But how long is THAT?"

"Be a Jedi, you wish?" Yoda gazed steadily at her. "Train HERE you shall. ALONE."

Arel raised her chin defiantly, but she felt the first stirrings of despair.


	2. Long Road to Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will become of Obi-Wan and Arel?

"Sith!" Obi-Wan screeched as the shock struck his arm. He mumbled a few curses under his breath as he swung madly, trying to connect with the round attacker training hoverdroid.

"Patience, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "Reach out with the Force -- sense its position --"

"I can't do it!" Obi-Wan deactivated his sabre and sank to his knees. "I'm so tired...take me back to my chambres..."

"No," Qui-Gon said flatly. He deactivated the droid and knelt beside Obi-Wan. When he touched Obi-Wan's shoulder, the blind man started violently. "Easy, Padawan -- what's wrong? You're in.. .turmoil... and it's blocking your skills."

"N-Nothing's wrong," Obi-Wan sighed. He lowered his head and thought, Except that I'm blind. Why doesn't he leave me and take a Padawan that will make him proud? Why won't he take the kind of Padawan that he deserves?

"Because the things I saw in you then, I see now."

Obi-Wan looked up. "What things?"

"Your skill as a swordsman was far above anyone in your age. Only Arel was more competent with the sabre."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes, Arel was better than me in everything ..."

"Yes, I know." Qui-Gon sighed. He shook his head. "'I'm top of my studies, best with a sabre, quickest with the answers. Master Jinn is the best, just like me.'" He shook his head again. "If I've not heard that a thousand times already from a myriad of different would-be Padawans..."

Obi-Wan grinned and breathed a comforted breath.

Qui-Gon went on, "Most of the time, the training and testing weeds the pride right out of the candidates. Those whom it does not, usually they are purged because they are of the Dark Side."

"But Arel wasn't purged. Why?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon sighed. He wished to change the subject, but he realised that his Padawan deserved to know. "The Council put her through another round of tests to determine if she was of the Dark Side. As it turns out, she wasn't."

Obi-Wan blinked. "But... she's prideful, isn't she? Didn't her attack on me prove it?"

"Her pride is just a facade. Inside her, there is much hurt and deep sadness. A kind of humility, if you will. She is a deeply troubled young woman, but she is of the Light. My hope is that Master Yoda can help her."

Silence fell for a moment. "Oh. I just thought she acted the way she did because she had a crush on you." Obi-Wan grinned teasingly.

Qui-Gon shot an exasperated look at his Padawan and sighed. "Am I the only one in the entire temple that didn't feel that?"

Obi-Wan's grin widened. "I think there maybe a galley boy down in the kitchen...."

The tension broken, they laughed together.

Qui-Gon then sensed something coming from Obi-Wan: relief. Ever so slight, but there. Normally, Qui-Gon would have overlooked this as having nothing to do with Obi-wan's Force training, because a Jedi is supposed to let go of his feelings so they don't hinder him in combat.

However, after his meeting with the Council, Qui-Gon Jinn -- the best swordsman in all of the Jedi -- had realised that he had forgotten about the rest of the Force when not in combat.

So, he played a hunch.

Quickly, he picked up his lightsabre. Activating the round droid, he said, "Here! Catch!"

Obi-Wan reflexively reached out and grabbed his sabre. Sensing the beam coming, he parried his sabre to quickly reflect it.

Qui-Gon smiled and turned off the droid.

Obi-Wan froze. His eyes wide, he stammered, "Where... how..."

"I sensed a wall of doubt crumble in you," Qui-Gon said, laying a gentle hand on the blind young man's shoulder. Speaking as a friend, he added, "Don't put it back."

Then Qui-Gon turned from friend to Master and reactivated the droid. "Now, Obi-Wan, continue."

Obi-Wan nodded. For the first time since losing his sight, he consciously reached out and was able to parry all but one of the droid's blows.

Qui-Gon sensed emotional walls begin to crumble as well, and allowed himself to smile.

* * * * * * *  
Thousands of light years away, Yoda allowed Arel some time to be alone and to gather her emotions from a somewhat productive training session. He decided to sit and meditate, to gather his wits as well.

Reaching out, he felt what was happening at the Temple, both from Qui-Gon and his Padawan. Giving a small, satisfied grunt, Yoda smiled ever so slightly.

******

Time passed. The training was intensified, now that Obi-Wan knew he could do what his master expected of him. He was eager to test his limits, to see exactly what he could and could not do. As it turned out, there was very, very little he could not do, with the Force helping him! The only true limitation his blindness imposed upon him was that he could not read.

Qui-Gon found himself evolving as well. He made a concerted effort not to always search for the logic in things -- but to go with his heart. To his astonishment, he found Obi-Wan responding better when he included his feelings!

Qui-Gon walked to his Padawan's quarters and closed his eyes. A moment later, he heard the swish of the door opening.

Obi-Wan stood there, dressed and smiling. "Master," he said by way of greeting.

"Excellent!" Qui-Gon smiled. "You are learning to tell identities by Force signature."

"No," the boy laughed. "You're the only one who would come here at such an early hour."

Not quite certain what to make of that, Qui-Gon blinked, startled. Then he cleared his throat. "The reason I am here so early this morning is that we have been summonded by the Council."

The smile fled from Obi-Wan's face. "Let me get my boots,"he said, turning and walking back into his quarters.

Qui-Gon waited at the doorway until the boy reappeared. "I am ready," he said, moving away from the door and letting it close.

The pair walked toward the Council chambres till Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan's arm. "We turn here," he told him.

Sightless eyes blinked in shock. "But the way to the chambres is not this way!"

"Yes... but we were ordered by the Council to meet in the Temple's Antechambre."

Obi-Wan gulped. The Antechambre was a large, cavernous hallway that could potentially hold 3 or 4 thousand people. "Why, Master?"

"That, they would not tell me," Qui-Gon replied with a hint of puzzlement. "They only said to meet them there."

Obi-Wan mused, "That's unusual."

"Very."

"I dont know why, but I'm... uneasy about this, Master."

"As am I, Padawan." He squeezed the blind young man's shoulder. "As am I."

They arrived, to find the entire council save Yoda assembled on overlooks, watching them. Qui-Gon whispered what he saw to his Padawan, who let out a low whistle. "Wonder what this is all about?"

"We have arrived," Qui-Gon said. "What do you wish of us?"

Windu stood. "Jinn. Kenobi. We have watched your training for these last few weeks. It is the wish of the Council that you demonstrate what Kenobi has learned."

"With all due respect, by what means can this be done?" Obi-Wan asked.

Windu nodded and the blue Jedi stood. A light flared, illuminating two practice lightsabres on a raised platform about ten feet in front of the pair. "You will spar," Windu said. "And we will monitor it."

Qui-Gon stepped forward. "But Masters, the boy is not yet ready! He --"

A smaller hand landed on his arm. "Master," Obi-Wan said softly, "I am as ready as you can make me. If we must spar...." He reached in front of him. A practice sabre quivered and flew into his hand. "Then let us spar."

"Are you certain, Padawan?" Qui-Gon matched his soft tone.

The auburn head nodded and the hand never moved. Looking into his sightless eyes as if he could read his feelings there, Qui-Gon sighed. He raised his hand and the other sabre flew into his hand.

Obi-Wan's fingers closed around the sabre. He moved around Qui-Gon and walked fifteen steps away. Then he turned and faced where he had left his Master. "Ready, Master?"

He heard the distinct sound of a low-powered lightsabre powering up. "Ready, Padawan. Yourself?"

Obi-Wan activated his own sabre. "Ready."

"Begin," Windu called.

Neither Master nor Padawan spoke. Parry and thrust, quarter neither given nor asked for. Attacks were countered and launched from both sides. On and on and on the spar went, their strides taking them the entire length of the hall and back. The only sound in the hall was the hum and crash of sabres and the occasional grunt of strain from one or the other of the fighters.

Finally, like all battles, it ended. Exhausted, Obi-Wan stumbled. Instantly Qui-Gon lay the training sabre a few centimetres above his shoulder. "It ... is over," he said, his voice reflecting his tiredness.

Windu stood up. "So it is. And his defeat was not from lack of skill, nor from any error resulting from his blindness."

The blue Jedi stood as well. "You have taught him well, Jinn. Very well. He may remain as your padawan."

"What?" both gasped as Qui-Gon helped Obi-Wan to his feet.

Windu leaned forward. "My apologies, Jinn. We had to keep you in the.. *ahem*... 'dark' about this so that your emotions would not bleed to your Padawan."

"About...what?" Qui-Gon demanded.

"These last few weeks... all of it was a test. To see whether or not a blind man could still be considered Jedi. You have both passed. What you are teaching Obi-Wan will be documented and used in future trainings."

Obi-Wan grinned. "You mean...I can stay?"

"Yes, Kenobi," Windu finished with a smile. "You can stay."

So that's it, Qui-Gon thought. He needs to know he's accepted...how can I show him in a way he'll understand.... Then he nodded. What I did when he became my Padawan....to do it in front of witnesses... "Come to me, Padawan," he instructed. Obi-Wan did, only stopping when he felt Qui-Gon's large hand on his shoulder. "Undo your braid," Qui-Gon ordered.

Frowning deeply, Obi-Wan obeyed. I don't understand....he was told I could stay...why must I ---

Qui-Gon took the hairs in his hand and deftly rebraided it, tighter than ever. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi," he declared before the Council. "This is the one I take for my Padawan. I will have no other." And the braid was finished.

The bond was reaffirmed.

"No other," Qui-Gon finished, laying his large hand on Obi-Wan's slim shoulder.

The young man looked up at Qui-Gon, smiling his acceptance and gratitude.

And at that moment it hit Qui-Gon like a runaway speeder. ".....you... can see!"

"I...." Obi-Wan blinked, then his eyes focussed a little more. "I can! I can see shapes...and light!"

Windu called for a healer as Qui-Gon caught Obi-Wan up into a massive hug, which the Padawan returned enthusiastically.

******

Windu blew the air out of his cheeks and did his best to glare at the holo-suite. "You, Master, can be damned infuriating at times."

"Infuriating, am I?" Yoda huffed, but he was smiling. "Good.... good. Learn something perhaps you shall."

Windu chuckled. "It does become aggravating, though -- I call to give you the news of the test, of Kenobi regaining his sight, and all you can say is 'know it, I do'... Master, is there anything you don't know?"

His ears drooped slightly, as did his eyes. "Mmm..... yes." He turned to see Arel using a stick to sadly poke at the water. "The heart and mind of a female.... I understand not."

"How are things going, Master?"

"Slow," he grunted as he sat down. "Get through to her I cannot. Her wildness I have managed to calm...Reach her emotions I cannot seem to. Very frustrating, it is. Very frustrating indeed."

"I've never had a female padawan, Master. I have no advice for you."

His eyes widened, then closed. "Windu, message pass to Jinn. Luck to both I wish."

"Understood." And the channel was cut.

Yoda sat and sighed, meditating hard. He rose and moved across the swamp toward Arel. "Word from the Temple, I have."

She didn't look up. "Oh?"

"Regained his sight, Kenobi has."

"I'm glad," she said in a flat monotone.

Yoda grunted as he sat beside her. "Glad? Glad sound you not."

She lay the stick down and curled further into herself. "....I didn't mean to hurt him....I just wanted to be Jinn's padawan so badly...."

The green head nodded and a softer grunt came from him. "Know this, do I. Know of your feelings for him do I."

Arel winced and seemed to further withdraw.

"Arel." The clawed hand rested lightly but firmly on her shoulder. "Jinn's Padawan Kenobi is. Choose their masters padawans cannot. Going against the way of things, you were. Tried to impose your will upon the Force, did you."

"I know, Master. And I failed."

"Fail at that, we all do." He settled back and turned away from her slightly. "Failed at that, even I have."

"You, Master?" She was shocked.

"Mmm." He nodded, then turned back to face her. "Think me perfect, do you? Young once, I was. Headstrong I was."

"Headstrong you still are," she said gently.

His eyes widened and his ears shot straight back, then they came forward as his eyes closed nearly all the way and he began to laugh. He laughed so hard he ended up on his back. Arel just goggled.

When he had some measure of control, he sat up again. "...Cheeky you are!" he said, pointing his stick at her. He chuckled and wiped his eyes. Then he took a couple of deep breaths and sighed, serious again. "Why so important to be Jinn's padawan, Arel?"

"Because I was the top in the class in everything. I ... I didn't fail in anything! And neither did he, so I figured we would be the unbeatable team!" She sighed and curled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knees. "But all I turned out to be was a failure."

Yoda studied her closely. He reached out to her with the Force. Suddenly realisation shot across his face as the final piece of the puzzle that was Arel clicked into place. "Perfection you seek," he said in a near-whisper. "When perfection achieve you not, failure you see....." He nodded slowly. "Yes.... yes! Understand I do!"

She turned to face him. "Well then...could you please explain it to me?"

He nodded again. "Knew this about you already, did I. The motive behind it, knew I not. Arrogance, assumed I. Pride, assumed I." Yoda edged closer. "None of these, it is. Loneliness, it is. Desire to be accepted, it is. Desire to be loved, it is." He gave an amused chuckle. "Much alike, you and Kenobi. Much alike." He pointed a claw at her. "Difference is this -- his own merits, Kenobi seeks. Best he can be, he seeks. Perfection, you seek. Love and perfection to you be the same. Wrong, you are. Very wrong."

Arel hung her head. "Am I?" she asked. "You don't understand. You can't understand. You've never made a mistake!"

A sharp bark of amusement escaped the Jedi Master. "Think so, do you? Listen not, have you been!" He shook his head and moved even closer, laying his clawed hands on her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "Motive that drives you, wrong I was about. Mistake, that is."

"Your first, then."

Now he openly laughed. "My first.... my first! Child.... latest of many it is! Mistakes I have made aplenty!"

She blinked in naked surprise. ".....what?"

"Young I was once. Yes... young and impulsive. Many, many padawans have I trained. Many have I seen fall. Many have I seen leave the order." He sighed and lowered his eyes, releasing her. "Many have I outlived." He looked at her again. "Many things am I, child. Perfect .... I am not. Perfect no living thing is." He raised his stick and poked her shoulder lightly with it. "Perfect you will never be. To seek it, depression will you find. Nothing else."

Silence fell as they sat there, each alone with their own thoughts.

At long last, Arel asked softly, "Master Yoda?"

"Yes, Arel?"

"I.... I need to return to Coruscant."

"Hmmm?"

"I need to return to Coruscant." She took a deep breath. "I... I need to make things right with Obi-Wan."

"Mmmm." He nodded. "Ready are you indeed. Made you ready as I can, have I." He stood with a grunt. "Very well. Contact the transport, will I."

* * * * * * *

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood side by side, watching the transport touch down. After a long few moments, the ramp descended. Yoda came down, grumbling as usual. This made both of them smile slightly.

Arel came down behind him, slowly. Her eyes locked on Obi-Wan's now-sighted ones, and she chewed on her lower lip. Spreading her hands to show she was unarmed, she moved toward him. "O...Obi-Wan."

"Arel," he said in acknowledgement. There was no emotion in his voice or his face.... or his eyes. He seemed completely closed off.

Opening her heart and mind, Arel sent waves of remorse -- sincerely felt -- toward Obi-Wan. "Words cannot say how sorry I am, Obi-Wan. What I did to you.... the reasons I did it....."

He interrupted her by holding up a hand. "Arel, we are not enemies."

Relief flooded over her and she visibly relaxed. "Thank the Force... Obi-Wan, listen ---"

"No," he said, interrupting her again. "This time you listen. Well."

Her jaw shut with an audible snap and she nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

"We are not enemies, Arel," he said slowly and carefully. "This is my forgiveness to you. However!" He held up a hand again to block the flow of words that threatened to come from her opened mouth. "However... after what has happened ---- no longer are we friends, either."

With that, the young man turned on his heel and left the transport area.

Arel sighed and lowered her head. It was no less than she deserved, and everyone there knew it. "I accept this, Obi-Wan," she whispered. ".....I have no choice in the matter."

*****

Years passed.

In a small bar in a small town on a small planet on the outskirts of the Frederation, Obi-Wan sat staring at his drink. He let his mind wander where it would, and it inevitably wandered to the past and to the future.

He looked around the dingy bar and sipped his drink. The future... his future... was here. On this isolated dirtball of a planet far from the centre of nowhere. He didn't understand why, but he knew it to be true.

A vibration in the Force caught his attention. He looked up to see a tall woman walk into the bar. She ordered something obscenely healthy and turned....looking right at him.

Arel.

Much had happened since the two last spoke. The Federation, the death of his mentor and... his too-recent failure with the man the Skywalker boy had become.

She walked over to his table. "Is this taken?"

"Yes," he said, smiling at her. "By you."

She laughed and sat down. "It's been a very long time, Obi-Wan."

He nodded, sipping his drink. "Yes. It has."

"Long enough time to bury the past?"

"The past is always with us, Arel. It is the one thing in our lives that cannot be changed."

She nodded. "And the regrets never fully go."

"Why are you here, Arel?"

Arel sighed. "I wanted to make things right between us, Obi-Wan. The silence has stretched too long."

"I agree. At the time, it suited the situation."

She nodded in agreement. "But the situation was resolved long ago," she finished. "And now that you are without Anakin ---"

The look he shot her was plain. "I do not wish to discuss that."

"Obi-Wan..."

"It's a closed subject, Arel."

Arel sighed and sipped her drink. "I have a question for you."

"Ask it, then."

She met his clear blue eyes, and a pang went through her as she remembered how they had stared when she had taken the light from them. ".....am I still not your friend?"

Obi-Wan did not answer for a very long time. He nursed his drink and considered long and hard. Finally he looked at her. "Arel.... To relive that horrible time would be pointless. It happened. It is over. Let's move on."

More silence. Finally, Arel asked, "Tell me about Master Jinn.... what was it like to be his Padawan?"

That question broke the ice. They exchanged stories for the better part of three hours. He told her of beginning his training under Qui-Gon and finishing it under Yoda -- which brought a fond smile to her face as she remembered the little being's Masterhood of her. In exchange, she told him of her isolation on Dagobah, and of how she continued as Yoda's ersatz Padawan on Coruscant until Master B'Raya had formally Chosen her.

At the close of this exchange of stories, Arel realised her drink was quite gone. She smiled and asked, "Obi-Wan....one final question. Why this forsaken planet?"

Obi-Wan drained his glass and answered with a smile. "The forsaken planet is outside the main Federation space lanes. Here can be found an intriguing bunch of people -- the indigenous species are immune to the Force."

"Makes you practice your people skills, doesn't it?" Arel teased lightly.

He laughed and squeezed her hand. "And besides all of that, I feel here is where I need to be."

Arel shook her head. "I'll never fully understand you, Obi-Wan. But, if you feel your Destiny lies here... I wish the best for you." With that, she stood to leave.

"Arel?" He stood as well.

Wordlessly, she turned back to face him.

"Would you.... care to remain with me?"

Her smile was sad. "My Destiny lies elsewhere, Obi-Wan. I am glad we are friends once more.... that was the only regret in my life, and I am grateful that it is now in the past."

"Where it belongs," he finished, giving her a quick hug. "May the Force go with you, Arel."

"And with you, Obi-Wan." She broke the embrace and smiled tenderly at him. As she lay the credits for her drink -- and his --- on the table, she chuckled and turned to him one last time. "Tatooine ---what a name for a planet!" 

The End


End file.
